


Practical Math

by ProtoNeoRomantic



Series: Patch Works [33]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 16:13:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1824448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProtoNeoRomantic/pseuds/ProtoNeoRomantic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander tries to figure a few things out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practical Math

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Who Do You Think You Are?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1235281) by [ProtoNeoRomantic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProtoNeoRomantic/pseuds/ProtoNeoRomantic). 



> For more information on Canon Compliance/Divergence and Story Mechanics and Themes, see series description.

Xander didn’t wait around for his dad to sleep off his latest drunk. He went to Willow's to feed Amy then went to the Unemployment Office alone and applied for everything he could fool himself into thinking he might get interviewed for. After that, he went to school, but he couldn’t really concentrate. He found himself reading the want ads behind his Applied Math book the way he used to do with comic books in regular school. He was sort of aware that that more or less defeated his original purpose for being in Adult Ed in the first place, but he couldn’t quite care. The main reason he was actually sitting there that day was to not go to jail. All he could think about was finding another job before Saturday so that he wouldn’t have to go back to that damned store ever again except once on Wednesday to get his last paycheck. Which, at least it should be a pretty good one. 

The three eighteen hour shifts he had pulled over the long weekend would have to be cut down to sixteen each to account for the meals and breaks that labor laws required him to say he took, which made him feel not that bad at all about opening late on Saturday. But even so, that was still—Xander applied a little math—44 hours. If half of that was at eight dollars an hour and half was at twelve… he was already savvy enough to the working world to figure the four hours overtime would be on the eight dollar half, no matter what hours he had worked last… 

The teacher walked by his seat, looked over his shoulder and beamed proudly at him scribbling away at his note book. (22X8) + ~~(4X12)~~ (4X4) + (22X12) = ~~88~~ 176+ 16 + … ~~244?~~ 264 = 186 + 6 + 264 = 192 + 264 = 456 - FICA and the gang = not quite four-hundred bucks. Which was enough to pay his fines and probation fees and “rent” for the month and have a little change in his pocket. That being the case, maybe he would just quit on Wednesday regardless. He knew better than to quit before Wednesday. Both his dad and his Uncle Rory had told him the facts of life about post-quitting paychecks. 

But of course, quitting as soon as he had his check in hand would leaving him with the very serious problem of not having a when and where to meet Cordelia again. If he already had a new job, on the other hand, he was pretty confident that he could make sure kids at school knew where without contacting her directly. And besides the logistics, it would be a whole lot easier when he saw her if he could say ‘no worries, I have a job. I can help’ and have _that_ at least be the truth. Because having a job might not totally and completely make a guy a man. But it was pretty much a given that he couldn't be that without one.

~~~~

Xander woke up with a blinding headache. He was fully dressed, laying on top of his covers. It was Wednesday morning. He didn't think to ask himself how he knew that, or where Monday and Tuesday had gone. Today was the day. He went to the store for the last time, ready to quit his job and still have four-hundred dollars.

“Wait a minute,” he said when he looked at the check Mr. Grath had handed him, “Is this a joke? 'cause it's a little late for April Fools.” The check was for $114.92.

“Two sixteen hour shifts,” Mr. Garth explained curtly, “at $8 an hour. Minus all of your standard withholding, plus $77.35 for the video equipment that was damaged, I amuse on Saturday, when you chose not to open the store.”

“No way!” Xander started to protest, “I was here Saturday!”

“Don't lie to me!” Mr. Garth raged. “A very old customer of mine was hear half an hour after the store should have opened. It was locked up tight.”

Xander breathed out hard and put his fists in his pockets to keep from punching the walls. He could have argued that he had only been a few minutes late, but then the question of who had trashed the video camera would have come back up. Along with the question of why. He had a lot more to loose than $400 and he knew it. He took what he was given and left.

He went to Willow's house, feeling like there was something he needed to do there. But when he pulled into the driveway, he couldn't remember what. He might have gone in anyway, just to check on things. But the house key was no longer on Ira's key ring. Willow had taken it back from him on the day of her sentencing. To give to Ms. Waddle. Who was looking after everything while she was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> These are bits that didn't make it the Current chapter of WDYTYA "Reckoning" and a later chapter "Not Funny 'Ha Ha'", which ended up being almost completely deleted and became the basis of the story 'Isn't It Peculiar'.


End file.
